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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24700783">Sweet Tooth</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotetofollow/pseuds/anotetofollow'>anotetofollow</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Flirting, Baking, F/F, First Kiss, Gift Fic, Meet-Cute, Small Independent Businesses Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:41:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,544</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24700783</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotetofollow/pseuds/anotetofollow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When a new customer starts coming into Tevi Adaar's bakery, it's not long before she develops a crush. But Sera might be more trouble than she had bargained for.</p><p>Tevi belongs to the wonderful @southwarden as always</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Female Adaar/Sera, Female Inquisitor/Sera</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sweet Tooth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/southwarden/gifts">southwarden</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>
  <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0Rf416teNbcVH5rvAueh1E?si=Hnj9w1tWRpGeEK9-rT9jfQ">THIS FIC HAS AN ACCOMPANYING PLAYLIST</a>
</p><p> </p><p>i think this might eventually be a multipart but don't quote me on that</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a Monday morning, the first time she came in. Tevi was in the kitchen, taking a tray of palmiers out of the oven, and she was surprised to see the woman sitting at the corner table when she came back into the cafe. Usually no one showed up this early.</p><p>Tevi wiped her hands on her apron and grabbed an order pad from the counter, hurrying over to the table. “Hey,” she said. “Sorry to keep you waiting. What can I get for you?”</p><p>“Black coffee.” The woman was blonde, petite, swamped by a black hoodie a few sizes too big for her. There was a laptop open in front of her, every inch of it covered in vinyl stickers, and she didn’t look up as she spoke.</p><p>“Okay.” Tevi wrote it down. “Anything to eat?”</p><p>“Dunno.” The woman tapped away at her keyboard. “Maybe. What’s good?”</p><p>Oh man. Just the worst kind of customer. “Well, there’s cinnamon brioche. Got a strawberry galette that’ll be out of the oven in a few. Muffins, danishes… bit of everything, really.”</p><p>“You pick,” she said. “Just nothing with raisins, yeah?” The woman wrinkled her nose.</p><p>“Sure thing,” Tevi sighed, writing ‘whatever’ on the order pad.</p><p>She went back behind the counter and poured a mug of coffee from the pot, then took a cinnamon brioche bun from a tray and placed it on a willow-pattern plate. When Tevi returned to the corner table the woman had stopped typing, and she smiled as she looked up. Her hood was down now, revealing a mess of blonde hair that looked like it had been cut with kitchen scissors.</p><p>“Thanks,” she said as Tevi put her coffee down in front of her. “Sorry. For being rude. Just woken up and this…” she gestured vaguely at her laptop. “Stressed.”</p><p>“No worries.” Tevi wasn’t the type to hold grudges if someone apologised. Besides, the woman was cute. She had a sharp pixie face spattered with freckles, eyes a cornflower blue. It was hard to be annoyed at someone who looked like that. “Give me a shout if you need a refill.”</p><p>“Will do.” She picked up the brioche and took a large bite out of it, leaving her lips dusted in icing sugar. Her eyes went a little wide, and she spoke through her mouthful. “Shit. That’s really good.”</p><p>“Thank you.” Tevi made a tiny bow, then cringed at the stupidity of the gesture.</p><p>“Did you make this?”</p><p>“Yeah. I make everything, pretty much.”</p><p>“As if. Well done.” The woman sucked the sugar from her fingers and returned to her work, typing furiously as she frowned down at the screen. Conversation over, then.</p><p>Her new customer taken care of, Tevi returned to the morning’s tasks. She liked this part of the day, when the shop was nearly empty and she could turn her attention to baking. There was something almost meditative about kneading dough and mixing batter and icing cakes. It relaxed her.</p><p>Tevi had opened the cafe two years before, with a bit of money left to her by an eccentric great-aunt supplemented by a few loans from friends. She had worked nearly every job in hospitality over the years, and was sick of crappy wages and crappier managers. So she had taken the risk, renting the first floor of a building on a row of independent shops and fixing it up almost entirely by hand. Her hard work had paid off, however, and now the place was one of the most popular bakeries in town. Tevi spent most of her time in the kitchen, leaving the customer service side to Josie. It was her domain, her castle, and she loved it. Industrial-sized ovens and mixers, everything in spotless chrome, a shelf full of flour-covered books and a radio constantly tuned to the oldies station.</p><p>Tevi flitted between the kitchen and the counter until Josie arrived at ten, then spent the two hours before the lunch rush baking. One of the nice things about owning the place was that she didn’t have to abide by a set menu, giving her the freedom to cook whatever she liked as and when she felt like it. She spent a few minutes flicking idly through her cookbooks, trying to decide what to make that afternoon, eventually settling on pistachio financiers. Classic. She set the butter to browning as she whipped egg whites and sugar, then folded them both together. While the mixture was cooling she weighed out the ground pistachios, delighted as always by the pale green colour of the powder, then opened one of the huge kitchen drawers to look for the right moulds. Tevi was forever buying new cake tins and muffin trays and cookie cutters, to the point where it was approaching a habit, and locating a specific item of kitchenware was always a pain in the ass.</p><p>Eventually she found what she was looking for and set about carefully greasing the metal rings. New customers were often surprised to discover that it was Tevi who made the elegant little pasties that covered the counter. She was tall and broad-shouldered, with a strong jaw and arms thick with muscle. People presumed that feminine, well-dressed Josie was responsible for the more delicate sweets. A shallow assumption, really, but she did enjoy the looks on people’s faces when they saw her big hands deftly icing an eclair. No fun to be what people expected.</p><p>It was a busy day, and when the clock hit twelve Tevi turned the ovens off and went out to help Josie at the front. The blonde woman was still at the corner table, she noticed, fingers flying over her keyboard so fast it made Tevi’s head spin. She wondered what it was that required such rapid typing. Writing a screenplay? Arguing on Twitter? Soon the queue got too long for Tevi to pay close attention, and the next time she looked up the woman was gone.</p><p>She was back the next morning, however. Once again Tevi came out of the kitchen to find her sitting at the corner table, still tapping away at her laptop. Today she had exchanged her hoodie for an oversized jumper striped in red and white, large holes gaping at the wrists and elbows. Tevi noticed that her ears were pierced in several places, the rings and studs glinting silver where they peeked out of her honey-blonde hair.</p><p>“Welcome back,” Tevi said. “Black coffee?”</p><p>“Yeah, thanks.” The woman smiled, the expression dimpling her cheeks. “Can I get another one of those cinnamon-things? That was great.”</p><p>“Ah, sorry,” Tevi said, giving an apologetic shrug. “Sold out yesterday. There’s lemon curd muffins just come out fresh, if you’re interested?”</p><p>“Go on then. Thanks.”</p><p>Man, she really was cute. Button nose, sharp little chin, bangs not quite even. Tevi went back to the counter to fetch the order before she started blushing too obviously. Crushing on customers was such a lame cliche, yet here she was. Once she had brought the coffee and muffin over to the woman’s table Tevi returned to the sanctuary of the kitchen, where there were considerably fewer distractions.</p><p>She had barely started on the next batch of dough when the bell above the shop door tinkled. Tevi stopped short of pouring the next load of ingredients into the stand mixer and went out front, smiling when she saw Bull leaning against the counter.</p><p>“Morning,” she said. “You look like shit.”</p><p>Bull winced behind his sunglasses. He was wearing one of his usual muscle tanks, showing off the series of intricate designs inked over his considerable biceps, and the pallor of his skin suggested that he was not feeling at his best. “Long night last night.”</p><p>“Working late?” Tevi grinned as she set about making his usual. Bull worked at the tattoo parlour down the road, but the two of them knew each other from way back. He had been the one who tipped her off when the cafe came up for rent.</p><p>“Something like that.” He looked over the day’s counter display. “Can I get like half a dozen of those little chocolate things?”</p><p>“Sure. Anything for Tan?”</p><p>“Yeah, same as always.”</p><p>Tevi pulled out a handle from the espresso machine and knocked the puck of grounds into the bin, grinding a fresh dose of coffee into the basket. While she finished off the coffees and filled a paper bag with chocolate twists Bull looked idly around the cafe. When his eyes settled on the woman in the corner he waved over in her direction.</p><p>“Hey! Sera!”</p><p>She looked up, waving back when she saw him. “Surprised you’re awake,” she called. “You were rat-arsed last night.”</p><p>“Worth it,” he said, chuckling. The woman — Sera — cackled out a laugh, then turned back to her laptop.</p><p>“You know her?” Tevi asked, too quietly for the woman to hear.</p><p>“Who, Sera?” he said. “Sure. She’s in Red Jenny.”</p><p>Tevi looked at him blankly.</p><p>“The band? Play at the Breach all the time?”</p><p>“Nope. Not ringing any bells.”</p><p>“Yeah, well, you need to get out more,” Bull said. “Weird seeing her in daylight, actually. Always thought she was a vampire or something. She been coming here long?”</p><p>“Only since yesterday,” Tevi said, handing him his order. “Not exactly a regular.”</p><p>Bull took out his wallet — he had it on a chain, in this day and age — and tapped his card against the reader. “Thanks, Tev. Drinks this weekend?”</p><p>“Sure,” she said. “Good luck with your hangover.”</p><p>When Bull had manoeuvred his way out of the door Tevi went back to the kitchen. Before she returned to the half-finished batch of dough she pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped a few words into the search bar. Soon she had a list of results for Sera’s band, mostly shaky footage from gigs and EP reviews on obscure music blogs. Tevi watched one of the videos, keeping the volume low just in case it could be heard from the cafe. Red Jenny were what Tevi would categorise as ‘punk’, though she was certain that Bull would have a more specific term for the genre. It was very loud and very fast and very angry. Not Tevi’s usual thing, but she kind of liked it. The video was blurry but she could make out Sera playing bass at the edge of the stage, her fingers flying over the strings with the same intense speed as she displayed at her laptop.</p><p>Tevi shook her head as she locked her phone and put it back in her pocket. Okay, so Sera was not only cute, she was a Cool Band Girl as well. That wasn’t going to help matters. Sighing, Tevi returned to her neglected dough. With any luck Sera would simply stop coming to the cafe, and then she wouldn’t have to worry about blushing every time she left the kitchen.</p><p>But Sera didn’t stop coming. Every morning Tevi would come out to the front counter and find her sitting at the corner table, hunched over her laptop as usual. She would order a black coffee and whatever pastry Tevi recommended, and sometime during the lunch rush she would slip out again. They never exchanged more than a few words, but Tevi found herself looking forward to their brief conversations. Sera was whip-smart, funny, her bright eyes glinting every time she spoke. She was also highly complimentary of Tevi’s baking. Every time she tried a new item she declared it her favourite, often through a mouthful of crumbs. Tevi took mental notes of the flavours she seemed to particularly enjoy — citrus, spices, caramel — and began to seek out recipes that she thought Sera might like. An idiotic mode of courtship, given that Sera was completely unaware of it, but it gave Tevi a certain amount of satisfaction each time one of the new items went down well.</p><p>One morning Tevi opened up the cafe to discover the card machine offline and the Wi-Fi showing zero bars of signal. Swearing, she dug the router out from under the counter and switched it off and on again. No luck. Without Wi-Fi the point of sale software wouldn’t load, and barely anyone paid with cash these days. This might end up being a nightmare of a morning.</p><p>Twenty minutes later she still hadn’t managed to fix it, and she groaned to herself when the bell above the door sounded. Looking up she saw Sera walking into the cafe, headphones around her neck and backpack over her shoulder.</p><p>“Hey,” Tevi called, getting to her feet. “I’m really sorry, the Wi-Fi’s down. I don’t know if you need the internet for… whatever it is you do.”</p><p>Sera gave a small, strangled laugh. “You think I use your Wi-Fi?” she asked, as though this was a ridiculous assumption. “Like, a public network? Not likely. Can take a look at it, though. If you like.”</p><p>“Be my guest.” Tevi stepped aside and gestured to the router.</p><p>Sera came behind the counter, dumping her backpack on the floor as she crouched down to examined the small plastic box. “Hmm,” she said. “This is junk, you know that?”</p><p>“I mean…” Tevi didn’t know how to answer. As far as she was aware, all Wi-Fi routers were basically the same.</p><p>“Don’t worry about it.” Sera unzipped her backpack and removed a black plastic case, covered in a similar mess of stickers to her laptop. She popped it open to reveal a set of small tools, screwdrivers and pliers and what appeared to be a soldering iron. “You need to get baking, yeah?”</p><p>“Probably.”</p><p>“Go on.” Sera began to remove the plastic case of the router. “I’ll give you a shout if anyone comes in. Shouldn’t be long.”</p><p>“Thanks.” Tevi retreated back into the kitchen, hoping that Sera actually knew what she was doing. The Wi-Fi was pretty essential to running the business, and having it down for a full day would cause no end of problems.</p><p>Tevi tried to put these thoughts out of her mind as she got to work on her next recipe, an orange and polenta cake that she had never attempted before. It went smoothly enough, and the hypnotic grating and stirring kept her mind off the broken router for a while. She was just mixing up the rum glaze for the top of the cake when Sera pushed her way into the kitchen.</p><p>“Finished,” she said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder. “What is that? Smells amazing.”</p><p>“Orange polenta cake,” Tevi said, frowning. “You fixed it?”</p><p>“Yeah. Well. Sort of.” Sera smiled at her, flashing a pair of sharp incisors. “Improved it. You don’t pay for Wi-Fi any more.”</p><p>“I… what? Is that legal?”</p><p>“Everything’s legal if no one knows about it.” She turned around and walked back out into the cafe.</p><p>Tevi followed her, vaguely alarmed, and checked the display on the till. The Wi-Fi <em> did </em>seem to be working. This was enough of a relief that she was prepared to overlook the worrying implications for a moment. Sera was already back at her usual table, opening her laptop.</p><p>“I feel like I should pay you or something,” Tevi called over to her.</p><p>Sera waved the offer away. “You can get me a slice of that orange cake,” she said. “Two, if you’re that grateful.”</p><p>Two it was. Tevi brought the plate over to Sera’s table with her usual black coffee, placing the items carefully next to her laptop.</p><p>“So you’re… in IT?” Tevi asked lamely.</p><p>“Never heard that one before,” Sera said, laughing to herself. “Yeah, sure. I’m <em> in IT</em>.”</p><p>Tevi had no idea what that meant. “Look, it’s not that I’m not glad you fixed the router. But am I going to, you know… get in trouble?”</p><p>Sera shook her head seriously. “No. I’m good at what I do, yeah? No one’ll ever notice. On the off-chance they do, just say you bought it off some dodgy bloke in the pub. You’ll get a slap on the wrist at worse. People don’t go to prison for nicking broadband.”</p><p>“That’s a relief,” Tevi said, not entirely convinced.</p><p>If Sera noticed her unease she didn’t mention it. Instead she speared a large piece of cake on the end of her fork and shoved it into her mouth, eyes closing with pleasure as she chewed. “Shit. You’re magic, you know that?”</p><p>Tevi felt her cheeks flush at the compliment. “I wouldn’t say that,” she said, trying to laugh it off.</p><p>Sera pointed the fork at her. “Not having that. Magic. Did you train in Paris or something? With some bloke with a big hat?”</p><p>“Self-taught, mostly,” Tevi admitted. “Learned the rest on the job.”</p><p>Sera gave her laptop an affectionate pat. “Best way, innit? Watch out, think that’s customers.”</p><p>Tevi looked over her shoulder to see a couple entering the shop, chatting away to each other as they walked up to the counter. She deflated a little, having hoped that she would be able to talk to Sera for a while longer. But duty called, and the coffee wouldn’t make itself.</p><p>“Who is that?” Josie asked her later that afternoon, nodding in Sera’s direction.</p><p>“New regular,” Tevi said, trying to keep her voice casual. “Bull knows her, I think. Why d’you ask?”</p><p>Josie shrugged. “She watches you. When you’re with other customers. I thought you might be friends.”</p><p>“What?” Tevi forced a laugh. “No she doesn’t.”</p><p>“She does,” Josie insisted, rearranging a stack of brownies on the counter. “Only when you’re not looking, though. I think she likes you.”</p><p>“You need glasses. Or binoculars, maybe. She doesn’t look at me.”</p><p>“I take it you wouldn’t be interested, then?”</p><p>“Well, I never said <em> that</em>.”</p><p>“Tevi,” Josie sighed. “How come whenever a woman shows interest you behave like it’s the most outlandish thing in the world?”</p><p>Tevi risked a glance over to where Sera was sitting. She was still bent over her laptop, the plate next to her now containing nothing but crumbs. Not looking at her.</p><p>“It’s just,” Tevi said. “It’s like— shit, I don’t know. Can we talk about something else?”</p><p>“If we must. But I think you’re being ridiculous. If she likes you and you like her, why not just say something?”</p><p>“Oh, because it’s just that easy?”</p><p>“It can be. A little boldness goes a long way.”</p><p>“She’s a customer. It wouldn’t be appropriate.”</p><p>Josie rolled her eyes. “If you say so. Have we got any more raspberry friands?”</p><p>It became something of a pattern. Every morning Sera would come into the cafe and set up at the table in the corner, and every morning they would talk for a little while after Tevi brought her breakfast. She didn’t learn much about Sera during these short conversations. They spoke about the weather, the news, what was on the menu that day. Just chit-chat, nothing serious. A couple of times Tevi had tried to ask questions about Sera’s life, and every time she had been gently rebuffed. There was something a little secretive about the woman, a little guarded. It would have been very convenient if this had made her less appealing to Tevi, but unfortunately the opposite was true. It only made her want to know more about who Sera was, what she was doing in the cafe every day.</p><p>A week or so later she found out the first piece of the puzzle. Tevi had just brought a tray of carrot cake out to the counter when she heard a noise coming from the corner of the room. It was a high, mechanical beeping, and it drew the eye of the handful of customers sitting in the cafe. The source of the noise seemed to be Sera’s laptop, and Tevi watched as she snapped it closed and shoved it in her backpack, her face pale as she got to her feet. Sera made a beeline for the counter, weaving quickly between the tables.</p><p>“Everything okay?” Tevi asked.</p><p>“Listen,” Sera said. “I need to go in the kitchen for a bit.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Please.” She glanced over her shoulder, chewing on her lip. “Look, there’s not time to explain, alright? Just for a minute. If anyone asks, I wasn’t here.”</p><p>Tevi felt distinctly uncomfortable. She couldn’t think of a single innocent reason why Sera would need to hide in her kitchen. But Sera looked uncharacteristically worried, her expression tight and nervous, and that was enough to sway her.</p><p>“Alright,” she said. “If it’s that important.”</p><p>“Thanks.” Sera didn’t wait before hurrying through the kitchen door, lifting up the hood of her jacket to cover her face.</p><p>Tevi returned to her work, trying not to think too hard about what had happened. Was she really such a sucker for a pretty face that she’d get tangled up in something risky? Well, it certainly looked like that was the case.</p><p>A minute later the door chimed, and a well-dressed man walked into the cafe. Tevi’s usual clientele was a mixture of local families, students and hipsters, and seeing someone in a suit was something of an oddity. He smiled pleasantly as he approached the counter, straightening the knot of his tie.</p><p>“Morning,” he said. “Are you the owner?”</p><p>“I am,” Tevi said slowly. “What would you like?”</p><p>“Unfortunately I’m here on business,” he said, eyeing the stacks of pastries. “Do you have a moment to talk?”</p><p>“Sure.” Tevi set down the tray she was holding, working very hard to keep her hands from shaking. She came out from behind the counter, positioning herself so the man was looking away from the kitchen door.</p><p>He took a smartphone from his pocket and pressed the screen a few times, then turned it around for Tevi to see. The display showed a grainy photo — CCTV, it looked like — of a small figure that was, undoubtedly, Sera. “Have you seen this woman?”</p><p>Tevi made a show of squinting at the display, considering it. “No, sorry,” she said after a moment. “I don’t recognise her.”</p><p>“You’re sure?” he asked. “You must get a lot of customers through here.”</p><p>“Not as many as you’d think,” Tevi said, hoping she’d sound less guilty if she stuck to the truth. “It’s mostly regulars. I always notice if someone new comes in.”</p><p>“Well,” he sighed, putting the phone in his pocket. “That is a shame. If you do see her, I’d appreciate it if you could give me a call.”</p><p>The man reached into his suit jacket and handed Tevi a business card. <em> Detective Inspector Rutherford, Cyber Crime and Digital Forensics. </em>Police. Fantastic. Just what she needed. Tevi put it in her pocket and smiled at him, trying very hard not to look guilty.</p><p>“I’ll let you know if I see her,” she said.</p><p>“Thank you,” DI Rutherford said. “Have a good day.”</p><p>Tevi was worried that he might stop to talk to some of the other customers, but he turned and walked out of the cafe without a backwards glance. When he was out of sight she counted to twenty before going into the kitchen.</p><p>At first she thought that Sera had managed to sneak out of one of the kitchen’s tiny windows, but after a moment’s searching she found her hiding in the pantry. She looked up sheepishly as Tevi approached, her hands deep in the pockets of her hoodie.</p><p>“Care to tell me what the hell is going on?” Tevi asked, suddenly conscious of the pounding of her heart. “Why did I just have to lie to a police officer?”</p><p>“I’m sorry.” Sera rubbed at her eyes, looking suddenly exhausted. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”</p><p>“But <em> why</em>, Sera?”</p><p>“It’s best I don’t tell you,” she said. “Plausible deniability, yeah?”</p><p>Tevi folded her arms crossly. She knew that Sera was right, but also knew that she wouldn’t be able to relax until she knew exactly what was happening. “Forget that. I just hid a fugitive in my kitchen. I want to know.”</p><p>“Fine,” Sera sighed. “Look, call it activism, alright? Digital activism.”</p><p>“What, like broadband fraud?”</p><p>“No, like hacking,” she said. “But not in the like, steal your identity, nick your credit cards way. In the helping people way.”</p><p>Tevi’s eyes went wide. “Oh my god,” she said. “Are you Anonymous?”</p><p>Sera burst out laughing, the tension suddenly falling away from her. “Christ, no. Nothing that big. Just local stuff, right?”</p><p>“Like what?”</p><p>“Right.” Sera gestured with her hands. “Say there’s a kid who gets in trouble for, I don’t know, carrying a bit of weed or something. No harm done, nobody got hurt, but that’s still on his record. Later he’s trying to get a job, and he can’t, because people don’t want to hire ‘criminals’, even if they’re not criminals at all. So I—” she snapped her fingers “—make it disappear. Kid gets hired, his family don’t get evicted. Simple.”</p><p>“So you get rid of people’s criminal records?”</p><p>“Not always that,” she said. “Maybe someone’s got a bit of power but they’re doing something dodgy with it. Maybe I dig some dirt up, send it to the papers. All sorts.”</p><p>Tevi remembered the previous year, when the city mayor had been exposed for siphoning off money from public services. “Dumar? Was that you?”</p><p>“Never said that,” Sera grinned. “<em>Plausible deniability</em>.”</p><p>“So you’re on the run from the cops?”</p><p>She shook her head. “Not <em> really</em>. If they’ve got anything concrete on me now, in half an hour they won’t.” Sera patted the backpack slung over her shoulder. “Sometimes they get close. Not close enough, though. Can’t arrest someone who doesn’t exist, can you?”</p><p>“I don’t know,” Tevi said. “I’ve never arrested anyone.”</p><p>“You won’t, though?” Sera said, her voice serious again. “Tell anyone, I mean.”</p><p>“Of course not,” Tevi said. “You don’t have to worry about me. Just… be careful, okay?”</p><p>“Always am.”</p><p>Then Sera stood on her tiptoes, pulled Tevi down by the front of her apron, and kissed her. It wasn’t a chaste kiss, no gentle peck of gratitude. It was a real kiss, open-mouthed with teeth in it, the kind of kiss that leaves you gasping for air. Sera’s breakfast that morning had been apple cake, and her lips still tasted of nutmeg.</p><p>Tevi had barely begun to process what was happening when suddenly it was over. Sera stepped back, putting her other arm through the strap of her backpack and smiling to herself.</p><p>“Thanks, yeah?” she said. “See you tomorrow.”</p><p>Tevi just watched as Sera walked out of the kitchen, the door swinging shut behind her. The kiss had left her incapable of generating a thought, let alone speaking. Her heart was racing in her chest. Not from fear, though, not any more. Sera had kissed her. There, that was one thought. She had lied to the police. That was another.</p><p>Her third thought was ‘I need to make a batch of lemon bars’. That was the easiest thought to handle, and so it was the one Tevi turned her attention to. As she fetched butter and lemons from the fridge she tried to untangle everything that had just happened, and by the time she was putting the tray into the oven Tevi had reached one conclusion.</p><p>She was in serious trouble.</p>
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